Risks
by Cheryl W
Summary: The risks of their job threatened to destroy LaFiamma and Lundy's partnership...forever.
1. Chapter 1

Risks  
  
  
By: Cheryl W.   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Houston Knights nor is any copyright infringement intended.   
  
Ratings: PG -13 (Swearing)  
  
Comments: I just wanted to give a huge thank you to everyone who has kept this series alive in their hearts. And, of course, I'm including the standard plea for feedback!  
  
Levon Lundy maneuvered his Jimmy into the long drive of Terry Hollinger's mansion. He shot a look to his partner, Joseph LaFiamma, "You gotta admit, arresting the rich is a civilized experience."  
  
"Yeah, because they let their lawyers do the uncivilized fighting in court," LaFiamma tiredly replied. "You know he'll get a plea bargain and only do a few months in a state run country club."  
  
But Lundy drawled, "Don't go getting' Texas justice confused with Chicago justice. We do things right down here."  
  
This earned Lundy a snort of disbelief from LaFiamma as the two men approached the mansion's door. Their knock was answered promptly by a butler who civilly ushered them inside even as he stared wide eyed at the arrest warrant LaFiamma banished.   
  
"Take us to Mr. Hollinger, please," Lundy ordered with his usual country boy politeness.  
  
But before the butler could even respond, LaFiamma, having caught sight of the bodyguard's appearance at the top of the stairs, yelled a warning, "Gun!" a second before bullets reigned down into the entryway.  
  
Lundy and LaFiamma dove into a room to the right as the bullets embedded themselves into the front door where they had stood a mere instant before. LaFiamma scampered behind the wall and was soon joined by Lundy.   
  
Catching his partner's eyes, LaFiamma teased, "You call this civilized?!"  
Lundy shrugged, "Civilized ....for Texas." Both men smiled at that and then they were moving through the room away from the ambush they had stepped into. Cautiously they traveled through three rooms, all without incident.  
  
"This is only to stall us," Lundy whispered to his partner as they entered the dining room.   
  
LaFiamma's response was a curse as he looked out the french doors to the rear lawn. "He's got a helicopter!"  
  
"Great, he'll be in Mexico before we finish calling this in," Lundy snarled as he saw Hollinger was only twenty feet from reaching the helicopter.  
  
Without a word to Lundy, LaFiamma flew out the door and ran for the helicopter.  
  
"LaFiamma!" Lundy called out in frustration, nevertheless, he followed on the heels of his partner. Lundy had only gone a few steps when his instincts had him turning and sending a bullet into the bodyguard. He watched as the man dropped his gun and stumbled back into the doorway even as blood spread across his chest. Suddenly the bodyguard crumpled to the dining room floor and lay still.  
  
LaFiamma heard the report of Lundy's Colt and knew his partner had his back as always. As he watched Hollinger climb into the helicopter, LaFiamma began firing at the helicopter's motor even as the copter began to lift from terra firma. Dropping one gun and hastily holstering the other, LaFiamma poured on the speed toward his prey.  
  
Lundy saw the futility of LaFiamma's pursuit a second before he guessed his partner's intention. "No!" he roared even as he took a few running steps as if he could stop what was about to happen. His gut clenched as LaFiamma leaped for the copter skid and he prayed to God that LaFiamma would fail in the attempt. But LaFiamma caught the skid with both hands a mere moment before the helicopter quickly rose in altitude, unaware that it had another passenger dangling precariously under it.   
  
"LaFiamma!" Lundy screamed and sighted his gun on the helicopter but immediately lowered it. He couldn't risk the consequences of missing the motor or of hitting it. LaFiamma may have no regard for his own life, but Lundy did. Now all Lundy could do was helplessly watch LaFiamma cling to the skid of a helicopter that was now seven stories from the ground and rising. "Hang on LaFiamma! Hang on!" he ordered as his heart thudded in his chest.  
  
Hanging on was a priority with LaFiamma but so was getting into the copter. The wind was buffeting him strongly as he struggled to pull himself onto the skid. Finally, he managed to lope his right arm around the skid but as he attempted to lope his left arm on the skid, he saw a tree looming before him.  
  
Levon saw the impending disaster and sent up a desperate, anguished prayer, "Oh God, no. Don't do this!" Then the miracle happened, the helicopter suddenly gained altitude and LaFiamma cleared the tree by mere inches.   
  
Having braced himself for a collision with the tree, LaFiamma was unprepared for the swift elevation and his left hand lost it's grip on the skid. He bit back a scream as he began to fall. But a second later he was jerked to a painful halt. His right arm's hold on the skid held, though LaFiamma's arm felt close to dislocation.  
  
A "No!" had torn from Lundy as LaFiamma's left hand slipped but on it's heel followed a sigh of relief. LaFiamma was still hanging on like the stubborn fool Lundy accused him of being. "Use those damn muscles of yours and pull yourself onto the skid, boy!" he coached, his terror emerging into anger.  
  
'This is not the best idea I've ever had,' LaFiamma rebuked himself as he loped his left arm onto the skid and slowly pulled himself onto the metal beam. He laid on the relative security of the skid there a moment, letting the wind calm his rattled nerves. Then with the determination that he was known for, LaFiamma reached for a hand hold to help secure his climb to the helicopter door. Gaining that hold, LaFiamma stood slowly on the skid, balanced himself against the onslaught of the wind and made his move.  
  
As LaFiamma had made the move to stand on the skid, Lundy wanted to close his eyes, to spare himself the agony of watching his friend fall to his death. But he had to watch, couldn't not watch. This was his partner up there, his friend, and he wouldn't turn his back on him. Ever.  
  
When LaFiamma had stood on the skid, Lundy felt as if it were his own life balanced fifteen stories in the air. And when his partner opened the copter door, it was like his own heart began to pound, his own nerves were surging with adrenaline, his palms that were sweaty. Then LaFiamma leaped into the copter and Lundy was left wondering, worrying.   
  
LaFiamma's surprise appearance in the helicopter had Hollinger scrambling to the other side of the copter. Before Hollinger could recover from his shock, LaFiamma had his gun pointed into Hollinger's face. "Tell your pilot to turn around. It's time to go to jail, Hollinger."  
  
When the helicopter loped around, Lundy hung his head and closed his eyes in relief. He sent up a prayer of thanks before he resighted on the welcomed approach of the helicopter.  
  
The helicopter landed again in the lawn and Hollinger and the pilot obediently stepped from the copter, followed closely by LaFiamma. As Lundy approached, he saw the cocky smug smile on LaFiamma's face and suddenly his relief morphed into fury.   
  
Having cleared the worst of the helicopter's wind, LaFiamma cuffed Hollinger and he watched as Lundy roughly slapped cuffs on the pilot. Two uniformed cops had suddenly appeared on the scene and were only too glad to take Hollinger and the pilot into custody.   
"This is one hell of a job, Levon," LaFiamma greeted his partner with a laugh. He was totally unprepared for the roundhouse punch Levon sailed into his jaw. LaFiamme dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes. His eyes, full of shock, flew up to his towering partner.  
  
"You bastard!" Lundy snarled as he glared down at his partner. "You ever do another stunt like that and I'll do the mob's work for 'em!" And then Lundy was stalking away without a backward glance.  
  
  
TBC - I would love some feedback! 


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks so much to my reviewers! Your words of praise have made me brave enough to post the 2nd chapter.  
  
  
Silence reigned in Lundy's Jimmy as the partner's headed back to Resner's. Lundy had just parked in the parking garage when LaFiamma spoke, "You're the one who said Hollinger would be in Mexico before we could even call it in," LaFiamma announced in defense of his actions.  
  
But Lundy shot LaFiamma a deadly look, "Don't even try to justify what you did!"  
  
"What I did was arrest Hollinger!" LaFiamma railed back.  
  
"No!" Lundy shouted back, "What you did was court death! And for what?! So Hollinger can do four months jail time?!" He paused a moment, searing a look of judgment into LaFiamma, "Or did ya do it so you can get off on a rush?!"  
  
LaFiamma's eyes blazed with fury, "I was doing my job!"  
  
"Bullshit!" Lundy bellowed. "You get high off of taking risks!"  
  
LaFiamma wanted to rail back at Lundy but his sense of humor was kicking in instead. "High, huh?" he smirked at the unconscious play of Lundy's words. "I certainly got "high" on today's stunt, didn't I?"  
  
If looks really could kill, LaFiamma would have turned to ash that very second. Without another word, Lundy surged from the Jimmy and strode for the steps.  
  
"Ah, come on, Lundy," LaFiamma called to Lundy's back as he climbed from the truck. But his partner gave no indication he had heard LaFiamma or even acknowledged that he had a partner.  
  
  
  
  
All heads turned as Lundy entered the major crimes department. Jo Bill called out, "Where's your partner, Evil Knievel?"  
  
"Jackasses always bring up the rear, you know that Jo Bill," Lundy snidely replied, earning laughter around the room.   
  
But a minute later, LaFiamma entered the department and was greeted by applause. Smirking at the attention, LaFiamma took a bow and humbly thanked his adoring fans. This earned him yet another glare from his now seated partner. A glare Joe decided to ignore. Levon would get over his anger soon enough.  
  
But Lundy held onto his fury the complete rest of the day. And he didn't utter one word or spare one look at his partner, not even when he left for the day.  
  
"Lundy doesn't seem to be a fan of Evil Knievel, "Esteban remarked as he leaned against LaFiamma's desk a minute after Lundy's departure.  
  
A momentary look of sadness crossed LaFiamma's features, "No, it's me he's no fan of." Just as suddenly, LaFiamma drew back behind his usual façade, "But there's a critic in every crowd," and he smiled up at Esteban.  
  
But Esteban's expression was serious. "To Lundy, the risk you took today wasn't worth the results....any results." With that, Esteban patted LaFiamma's back and walked away.  
  
  
  
  
  
"You just gonna eat my food and drink my Tequila and say nothing," Chicken questioned indignantly as he stood before Lundy.  
  
Not looking up, Levon replied gruffly, "Yup."  
  
Chicken sighed. He hated when he knew his friend was hurting but wouldn't talk about it. "Tough day to be a cop?" he prodded but it earned him no response.   
  
Chicken came around the counter and claimed a seat by Lundy. He knew of three things that made Levon Lundy take up drinking: his job, his past, and his partner. Chicken instantly ruled out Levon's past as the culprit for tonight's drinking binge and he had already ventured a wrong guess at it being his job. That left one last choice: Lundy's stubborn, Italian, partner.  
  
Studying his friend closely, Chicken asked with put upon innocence, " So where's your partner tonight?"  
  
Lundy's head snapped up and he glared at Chicken. " How the hell should I know!?" before he took polished off another shot of Tequila. "May be he's out partnerin' up with Evil Knievel. Knowing LaFiamma, he'll insist on jumping first, before Evil!"  
  
"Levon, you ain't makin' any sense," Chicken countered.  
  
"No! What don't make sense is leapin' onto a helicopter that's already off the ground!" Levon snarled but Chicken sensed the anguish in the other man.  
  
"LaFiamma did that?!"  
  
Lundy looked away from Chicken and bitterly concluded, "I don't know why I'm dwellin' on it. Fool wants to commit suicide, he can be my guest." He paused a moment and when he spoke again anguish had overtaken his bitterness, "Long as I don't have to watch."  
  
  
  
  
"LaFiamma and Lundy are at it again," Joe Bill laughed as he leaned against Lt. Beaumont's office door and watched the familiar scene unfold.  
  
"Where was I?! Where were you?! I told you to meet me at my snitch's place at noon?!" Levon Lundy yelled back at this partner, Joseph LaFiamma.  
  
"You didn't say noon! You ordered me to question that witness ...again and then come meet you. Well, you know that old man barely says a word an hour. And what he told me was nothing we didn't already have down in his statement. Talk about "a waste of time"!" Lafiamma shot back, taking a menacing step toward his partner. "Then I waited for you at that fleabag hotel...for an hour and you never showed!"  
  
"What time was that?! Four o'clock!?! I was there when I was suppose to be, it was you who wasn't!" And Lundy jabbed a finger into LaFiamma's chest.  
  
"Lundy! Lafiamma!" ripped through the air mere moments before the confrontation could turn physical. Both men obeyed the command and faced their Lieutenant. "Get in here, now!"  
  
"Alright I wanna know what's wrong?" Lt. Joanne Beaumont demanded of the two men she had sitting in her office like truant school boys.  
  
"I waited half the day for my partner to show!" Lundy growled even as LaFiamma gave his own version of the trouble.  
  
"I've got to work with some Neanderthal that can't communicate?!"   
  
Lt held up her hand to silence any more words. She took her seat and stared at the two men. "Now that you've said what your problem is today, I wanna know the real problem. The problem that's put you two at odds for the past two weeks."  
  
"It's personal," came instantaneously from both men.  
  
Joanne sighed and thought, 'Least they agree on something.' But her tone was harsh as she spoke aloud, "No, it stopped being personal the second it effected your jobs." She let that one sink in and was glad to see a look of shame cross their features. "I'm tired of playing referee guys." Then her voice fell to regret, "And I'm tired of worrying that these arguments may mean you're not backing each other up like you should and that's gonna get one of you killed."  
  
Lundy and LaFiamma looked at one another for the first time since entering the office. Their eyes met and they knew they agreed on one thing, Joanne was right and today proved it. Then they looked back to Joanne and neither said a would of denial or in defense. Both men had lain awake nights worried about the same thing she was.  
  
Joanne sadly shook her head, "You two have something very few partners have and you're throwing it away." But this statement was met with silence so she forged ahead, "You're being reassigned new partners starting today."   
  
This finally got a reaction out of the two men. "What?!" LaFiamma exclaimed as he leaned forward in his chair even as Lundy surged to his feet, "Now hold on a damn second Joanne.."  
  
"No you hold on Levon. I've kept you two together ...against the captain's better judgment, because I could justify your partnership results. But lately..lately you two haven't even worked together on your cases." Both men raised surprised eyes to her. "Yeah I know you've been working the cases separately, collaborating only to make arrests and complete reports. But that's not a partnership. What woulda happened if one of you got into a bad situation?! Alone?! I can't believe you suddenly don't give a damn about each other?!" if she thought that would invoke a response she was disappointed. "Ah, to hell with talking to you two. LaFiamma you're partnering up with Esteban and Lundy you're with Joe Bill. Now get outta my office."   
  
TBC 


	3. Chapter 3

At first, Levon found Joe Bill's company just the right thing he had been missing these past two years. There was no bickering, no multiple stops just to get lunch and no griping around the music Lundy played. Yup, it seemed life was going to be better all around.  
  
Trouble was, Levon came to miss the bickering that had accompanied any investigation he and LaFiamma undertook. He was all ready to defend his theory on their case to Joe Bill when his partner up and said he agreed wholeheartedly with his theory. It took a full minute for Lundy to grasp that notion.  
  
And then there was the lunch experience. Sure Joe Bill ate where ever Lundy ate, but he wasn't much for conversation over the dinner plate. No, he took his eating seriously, and quietly. It was a sharp and painful contrast to Levon's lunches with LaFiamma, which were always filled with talk about everything -from sports stats to their families. During one of his lunches with Joe Bill, Levon's eyes met Chicken's and Levon quickly looked away. He knew what Chicken was thinking, knew the man was throwing him a pity party at the same time he was calling him a stubborn jackass.   
  
As for the music, Joe Bill actually took it upon himself to turn up the radio, and to songs that Lundy just hated. That definitely left a sour taste in Lundy's mouth. LaFiamma, for all his complaining, never once crossed the line and manhandled his radio!  
  
  
  
  
LaFiamma held his cold bottle of water to his eye, "Why didn't you talk me outta that?" he asked of his partner.  
  
Esteban Guietterz looked over at LaFiamma's black eye, cut lip and bruised jaw line and smiled. "I thought you could take 'em, LaFiamma. I didn't realize he was going to clean the floor with you."  
  
Pulling the bottle from his black eye, LaFiamma glared at Esteban, "He didn't clean the floor with me!"  
  
"Oh, right, he cleaned the boxing mat with you," Esteban clarified with a twinkle in his eye.  
  
Disgustedly, LaFiamma looked out the window, "Hey, we got the information we needed, didn't we?!"  
  
"Yes, and I learned that you drop your left before you try a right cross."  
"Esteban, I am warning you to back off," LaFiamma sternly cautioned, glaring at the Mexican man.   
  
"Fine."  
  
But LaFiamma little liked the gleam in Esteban's eyes. He leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes and tried to let the pain ebb away. It had sounded like a good idea. They had tracked down a guy in a boxing gym but the guy wasn't interested in saying word one. Well, not to them anyway. To his boxing manager, he had lots to say and on the subject of a missing sparring partner. LaFiamma had seen the opening and jumped at it. A trade was quickly worked out, he'd spar with the guy and he'd answer their questions.   
  
'I should have asked why the sparring partner had gone AWOL and why, in a boxing gym, no one else had volunteered to spar with the guy.' LaFiamma berated himself. Had he asked, everyone would have told him that the guy sparred without protection and without gloves and his last sparring partner was still sucking down ground up food. 'Lundy would of thought to ask ..woulda talked me out of it...well, or at least tried to," ran through Joey's mind. Esteban, on the other hand, had put down a bet...on the other guy.  
  
  
  
  
  
LaFiamma's entrance into the department was met with whistles of exclamations. "Looks like Evil Knievel took a spill on his bike," someone called out and laughter broke out in the room. LaFiamma ignored the taunts and went to his new desk which had previously been Joe Bill's.   
  
Lundy had almost reacted to LaFiamma's bruised appearance, but had brought himself under control just in time. LaFiamma wasn't his partner anymore, and not his concern. He kept his head down as LaFiamma passed on his way to his desk. Some sick part of Lundy had hoped to find matching bruises on Esteban to indicate that a fight had broken out among the new partners. But Esteban was unscathed and disappointment rose in Lundy. 'LaFiamma's just having a great old time working with Esteban.' Lundy thought bitterly. 'Those two are so much alike they probably only argue over whose turn it is to do the death defying feat. Yeah and it looks like LaFiamma's turn didn't go so well. Damn fool!"  
  
Lundy didn't have long to wonder about the feat. Joe Bill sauntered over to Esteban's desk and point blankly asked, "So how'd your partner get the tar beat outta him and you're sitting here without a scratch?"  
  
It took no more promoting than that for Esteban to launch into his tale, "My partner made a trade for information. A certain middle weight boxer was being uncooperative with his replies so LaFiamma, here, agreed to spar with him in exchange for some answers to our questions." Esteban shot a look to see his partner's response and LaFiamma felt like Esteban was going to deliver a KO punch...making it LaFiamma's second for the day.  
  
Esteban's grin broke out in a laugh, "As you can see by LaFiamma's face, he should not give up his day job."  
  
Drawn into the tale, Lundy found himself jumping to a conclusion he little liked. With steel in his voice, he demanded of Esteban, "And who was this middle weight boxer?"  
  
Now Esteban's eyes twinkled with the joke he had had to keep till now, "Curtis Maltably."  
  
"Curtis Maltably?!" Joe Bill practically shouted and looked to LaFiamma with censure and respect. "You stepped into the ring with Maltably?!"  
  
LaFiamma shrugged, still missing the joke he was starting to feel was made at his expense, "Yeah, so who's he?"  
  
But it wasn't Joe Bill who replied but Lundy in a voice that would have cut glass, "Only the boxer that got banned from professional ranks because he purposely injured five opponents. And his last "sparring partner" is still in the hospital trying to get his jaw fixed." Lundy turned to Esteban with a deadly glare, "But you knew all of this, didn't you?"  
  
This brought LaFiamma's attention to Esteban's face immediately. His new partner was still wearing that devious grin. He didn't even seem the least bit contrite as he confessed, "Sure, but LaFiamma didn't." Then, as if the issue was dropped, he turned to Joe Bill with a laugh, "You should have seen the way LaFiamma hit the mat!"  
  
LaFiamma surged from his chair, intent on reenacting the match...on Esteban, but as it was, he was too late. He watched in shock as Lundy yanked Esteban from his chair, plowed his fist into the man's gut and followed it with a left cross. Esteban was on the ground before most of the department knew what had happened.  
  
But Lt. Beaumont hadn't missed a thing. "Lundy, get in here!" She slammed her office door as Lundy entered. "What's your problem now with Esteban?!"  
  
Lundy stood toe to toe with his superior, "You can't keep LaFiamma and Esteban together!"   
"And why's that, Sergeant? They get along."  
  
"Yeah, cause neither of 'em has the sense God gave a billy goat."  
  
Beaumont put a hand on her hip and eyed her usually agreeable sergeant. "I put Esteban and LaFiamma together. Are you saying I lack good judgment?"   
  
But Lundy didn't back down from his accusation. "What I'm saying Lieutenant, is they're dangerous together."  
  
Joanne's eyes softened, "And what, it would be better for all concerned if you and Joe got partnered up again?"  
  
To Joanne's surprise, Levon lowered his head and spoke only one word, softly but emphatically, "No." He crossed over to the window.  
  
"I...I don't understand Levon," Joanne gently began but Levon spoke before she could form the question that had been nagging at her for the past week.  
  
"You did me a favor," Levon's voice was low, emotional. "Did what I didn't have the guts to do."  
  
Taking a step closer to Lundy, Beaumont questioned, "And what was that?"  
  
Suddenly Lundy swung around to face Joanne, "End the partnership," his tone firm, resolute, relieved.  
  
But this only farther confused Beaumont, "Make me understand why Levon. I know you care about LaFiamma."  
  
Lundy's raw emotions rang through his words, "That's the heart of it. I care too damn much."  
  
"Let me get this straight. You're walking away because you care?!"  
  
A sad smirk played on Lundy's lips, "You act like that's a strange notion. Cop's spouses have been doing it forever..and they even got it easy, the way I see it. All they get is a knock on the door and someone saying, 'sorry about your loss.'"  
  
Bitterness crept into Levon's voice, "But partners, we get front row seats to the whole show... in living color."   
  
He paused a moment, meeting Joanne's eyes steadily, knowing that she would understand. When he spoke again, there was only anguish, "I can't be there to watch him get killed, Joanne. That's the one thing I couldn't bear. I know what you meant 'bout what LaFiamma and I have together. He's family to me, Joanne. My brother. And I already lost too much family as it is." Before Joanne could draw a breath to speak, Lundy was out of her office and stalking out of the department doors.  
  
  
  
  
The deluge of rain had finally let up after 3 days but it's destruction was still spreading across Houston. Esteban maneuvered the truck through the flooded streets, passing several abandoned vehicles.  
  
"I think I'ld take a blizzard over this," LaFiamma commented as he looked at the havoc the water was wielding. "Least snow doesn't seep into your house.... or send it floating away."  
  
"Yes, but how many people die in car accidents because of snow and ice?" Esteban countered.  
LaFiamma pulled his look away from the window and faced his new partner. "True. I guess nature's deadly no matter what shape she's taking."  
  
Instead of answering, Esbeban cursed and brought the truck to a stop. LaFiamma looked out of the windshield to see a small bridge was being flooded by it's creek. And there were two cars that sat upon the bride, one was slowly being pushed sideways across the bridge while the second car's front left tire was precariously hanging over the bridge.  
  
"Call for a tow truck," LaFiamma ordered as he leaped from the truck down into the two foot water. Wading his way through the rushing water, he reached the start of the bridge and it's fast current water that had overflowed it. The driver's door of the sideways car was ten feet in front of LaFiamma and he could see that the driver was a young teenage boy, pale and terrified.   
  
LaFiamma's options ran through his head. Waiting for the two truck never crossed his mind. Realizing that the car's rear end was only 5 feet away, he made his decision.  
  
Determinedly wading to his right, LaFiamma halted 10 feet upstream from the car, outside the river's faster current. Taking a deep breath, he jumped out as far as he could and swam hard the second he was in the water's grip. The current proved to be faster than he could have imagined. Truth was, had the current not been rerouted by something in it's path, LaFiamma would never have reached the vehicle.  
  
As it was, LaFiamma's leg slammed hard into the object under the water, a wrought iron bench that had been swept away from it's home. LaFiamma cried out in pain but continued to stroke powerfully for the car. He ended up slamming his chest, none too gently, into the car's rear bumper.  
  
With determined strength, he pulled himself onto the car's trunk and crawled onto the roof and leaned down to see the driver. The boy's panic and relief were palatable. "The car won't start," the boy stammered.  
  
LaFiamma smiled, "I think it's safe to say it's flooded, kid. How 'bout we get outta here?" The boy nodded in agreement. "Alright, take my hand and climb onto the roof."   
  
Almost immediately, LaFiamma's hand was clenched with a deadly grip and he steadied the boy as he climbed on the seat and out the window. He yanked the kid onto the roof by his pants. The teenager lay, panting on the car roof.  
  
"LaFiamma, you crazy suicidal son of a bitch!" Esteban raged from his vantage point at the bridge's edge.  
  
LaFiamma, instead of being angered, smiled, "Yeah, that's what Lundy's always saying. You got a rope or something to tie onto the kid?"  
  
"I'm not a Boy Scout, LaFiamma. I'll see what's around, check with some house owners. Don't go anywhere." And Guiterez waded toward the nearest house.  
  
"Climb down onto the trunk and wait for my part.." LaFiamma found he couldn't call Guiterrez his partner it just felt wrong. "Wait for the sergeant to come back with a rope so he can pull you outta the river."  
  
As LaFiamma made to move toward the car's hood but the boy clamped onto his arm, "Where are you going?"  
  
LaFiamma nodded toward the car that had one tire out over the bridge. "I'm going to go get them. Now, get to your trunk. You're gonna be OK." Joe rustled the boy's hair and gave him a smile. The boy gave a weak smile in return and scrambled down to the trunk.  
  
After sliding down to the car's hood, LaFiamma jumped to the jeep that was three feet away, securing a hold on the metal rack on the vehicle's roof. Looking into the window, he could see two small children in the back seat and a woman slumped unconscious over the driver's wheel.  
  
Trying to open the back door, he realized they were locked. He knocked on the window and calmly ordered the children to roll down the window. He saw the child in the seat by the door, a boy of 5, try to get the window down and LaFiamma cringed. They were electric windows and that meant they weren't getting the windows down. "Ok, Ok. Unlock the door by that bottom by the door handle." Again the little hand descended out of sight. But as LaFiamma tried the door handle again, the results were the same.   
  
Suddenly the car shifted forward a few feet and Joe knew he couldn't waste another second. Abandoning the side doors, he climbed onto the roof and crawled to the rear of the vehicle. Pulling his gun free, he slammed it into the rear window, wishing all the while that he could chance shooting the window. It took five hard slams to even manage to severely crack the window. "To hell with this," he grumbled as he swung himself off the roof and sent his feet slamming into and through the window. He kicked the rest of the glass free of the frame before he crawled into the seat with the now two crying children.   
  
"Hey, it's gonna be OK," he smoothed as he unbuckled the 5 year old boy and took the toddler girl from her car seat.. "Alright, hang onto my neck real tight, as tight as you can." Both children complied readily and Joe climbed over the seat, and out the back window unto the roof.  
  
He was surprised and relieved to see Esteban making his way toward the now rescued teenager's car via a rope. LaFiamma waited as Esteban reached the car and climbed onto the hood.  
  
"Someone call for a Taxi?" Esteban greeted.  
  
"I'm not the only crazy one," LaFiamma smiled back.  
  
A devious grin sprang unto Esteban's lips, "Never said you were. So how 'bout you pass a child to me, one at a time."  
  
As he sat on the roof clutching both children to his chest, Joe whispered into the little boy's ear, "Ok, little brave boy, you gotta let go and go to the nice police officer." Then turning to the girl, he gently continued, "And you, princess, you just keep holding me tight. Ok?" Both children nodded a response even as the boy slowly released his strangling grip on LaFiamma's neck.  
  
"Be brave like I know you are, son," Joe encouraged as he held the boy over the raging water into Esteban's outstretched arms. Esteban securely grasped the boy and pulled him to the relative safety of the car roof.  
  
"Get him to safety. We'll wait here," LaFiamma ordered and Esteban climbed back to the car's trunk with the boy clinging to his neck. Then Guiterrez, with his precious cargo, made his way across the current by the rope to a group of five volunteer helpers.  
  
After passing the child into the helpers care, Esteban again made the dangerous and difficult trip back to the hood of the car.   
  
"Now, it's your turn to go to the nice police officer like your brother did. You'll be just fine, little princess," LaFiamma cooed and passed her into Esteban's capable hands. A mere second later, the jeep jerked forward.  
  
"LaFiamma!" Esteban screamed even as LaFiamma skimmed across the roof. The jeep jerked to a halt as LaFiamma fell from the roof. He caught the top railing at the last second with his left hand. The current of the water buffeted him buy he managed to climb back onto the roof, panting. From his vantage point, he could see he was now 7 feet from the car Esteban sat upon and the jeep's right tire now hung over the bridge as well as the left.  
  
"LaFiamma, come on! You have to jump, now!!" Esteban yelled adamantly.   
  
But LaFiamma shook his head, "The driver's still in the jeep!"  
  
"You can't save her, not like this! A two truck will be here soon. Now jump onto this car!!!"  
  
"I won't let her die!" Joe refused. "Now get the child to safety!"  
  
"LaFiamma?!" Esteban half ordered and half pleaded.  
  
"Esteban! Keep that little girl safe!! Go!!"   
  
Meeting LaFiamma's eyes, Esteban saw his friend's resolve and he did as LaFiamma ordered and began his trek to safety.  
  
Again LaFiamma ventured into the jeep but this time he crawled into the front seat. Checking the woman's pulse, he found her pulse strong under his fingers even though blood seeped from a cut on her head. He almost jumped when she spoke.  
  
"My children?" she murmured, her eyes searching intently into his.  
  
"Safe. They're safe. Now let's get you outta here," Pulled his gun, he fired into the passenger side window, shattering it and used his gun to clear the shards of glass.  
  
The jeep lurched forward, slamming LaFiamma chest into the dash and his head into the windshield. Wincing in pain, LaFiamma pushed himself back and took in a sharp breath as the jeep tipped forward. Quickly unbuckling the woman's seat belt, he explained, "We're gonna climb out your passenger window and get on the roof. Can you move?"  
  
"I...I think so," the woman weakly replied.  
  
"Alright, we're gonna move slowly. I'll help you get to the window then I'll get on the roof and help you onto the roof. OK?"  
  
"Yes, Yes I understand," the woman nodded.  
  
"Take my hands," LaFiamma instructed and she trustingly placed her hands in his. Gently, he pulled her onto the seat and toward the window. Then he climbed out the window and onto the roof. Laying down, he reached his hands back inside the window. "You're doing great. Now take my hands, again," but as she reached for his hands, the jeep fell over the bridge and flipped onto its roof.  
  
"LaFiamma!!" Esteban screamed as he watched in horror as the jeep flipped into the raging water. He screamed again as the jeep began to float down the river ..... with no signs of LaFiamma in sight. "LaFiamma!!"  
  
  
TBC 


	4. Chapter 4

Well, I'm done leading you on..... here's the rest of the story. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing!  
  
  
  
"92-14. Please respond," came over Lundy's police radio.  
  
"92-14 here," Lundy replied into the CB.  
  
"92-14, please report immediately to the Blackcrow Street bridge."  
  
"We're on our way. 92-14 out."  
  
Joe Bill sighed, "I bet that bridge's out again. What do they expect us to do, build a boat to ferry people 'cross?"  
  
"Nah, no boat. I bet they want you to ferry 'em across on your back," Lundy sallied back.  
Joe Bill laughed and something in Lundy twinged in pain. A comment like that would have gotten quite a rise out of LaFiamma.  
  
  
  
The scene that greeted Lundy and Joe Bill at the bridge was controlled chaos. Lundy maneuvered around two trucks, an ambulance, a rescue truck and ended up beside a tow truck.   
Lundy took in the scene before him. Joe Bill was right, the bridge was flooded. He watched a moment as the tow truck attempting to pull a car from the flooded bridge. At the bank of the river, he saw two rescue divers, already in their wetsuits, surveying the water before them.  
  
"Looks like someone went into the drink," Joe Bill commented as he and Lundy jumped from the Jimmy into the water that lay across the road.  
  
Looking around for an officer, Lundy found a patrolman and began to approach him, intent on finding out why he and Joe Bill had been dispatched to the scene. "I'm Sergeant Lundy. Can you tell me why I was dispatched here?"  
  
The officer opened his mouth to reply but a voice called Lundy's name behind them.  
  
Lundy turned around to find Lt. Beaumont approaching as fast as she could through the water under foot. Suddenly Lundy felt chilled to the bone. The look on Joanne's face spoke of anguish and loss. Immediately Lundy thought of the people that he cared about most in the world and the probability that any of them were involved in what had transpired here.   
  
Swinging around to study the vehicles he had driven by, Lundy noticed for the first time that the two trucks sported police lights. Today, the police units, just to be able to maneuver through the city, were using every available truck. Suddenly the possibility that LaFiamma was here soared.  
  
Levon swallowed down emotions that were erupting inside, as Joanne stopped in front of him.   
  
"Lieutenant, why are we here?" Joe Bill impatiently questioned, unaware of the emotions swamping his Lieutenant or his partner.  
  
Without sparing a glance at Joe Bill, Joanne kept her eyes steadily on Levon and swallowed a few times, trying to get the words out. "Two...two cars were stuck on the bridge. Guiterrez and ...." Swallowed the lump in her throat, she pressed on, "Esteban and LaFiamma arrived on the scene and they got the driver of the car and two children passengers from the 2nd vehicle to safety." Here she paused, trying to find a way to say what must be said.  
  
Lundy's eyes darted to the bridge, to the single car being towed, to the ambulance where Esteban stood talking to the paramedics, to the two rescue divers that stood on the bank but made no move to don on their masks and tanks to perform a rescue. Bringing his focus back to Joanne, Levon seized onto her shoulders and demanded, "Where's LaFiamma?!"  
  
"Levon," Joanne breathed in anguish.  
  
Her anguished tone and look of despair ripped through Levon. "No!!" he growled in denial and pushed past her toward the divers.  
  
He stumbled to a halt beside the divers as he saw what had their attention. The jeep was being tossed from bank to bank even as it made it's way down river, unstoppable in its motion.  
  
Esteban spoke from behind Lundy, his voice thick with emotion, "He was trying to rescue the children's mother. It...it happened so fast. The jeep just fell into the river and La.." Esteban's voice faltered. "I...I never saw him surface, Levon."  
  
Lundy clenched his jaw, refusing to let the sob break free. But then, without warning, he spun and landed a right cross to Esteban's jaw, sending the cop to the water covered ground. "Damn you!! You were suppose to protect him!" Levon screamed as he towered over the downed man.  
  
Esteban made no move to get up, to defend himself against any further attack Lundy would make. But Levon's anger was quickly overcome by his gut wrenching sorrow. Without another word, Levon began to walk up the river bank, searching for LaFiamma. It was hard going amidst the water and the muddy crumbing banks but he pressed on, never pulling his eyes from the river.   
  
He wasn't aware that someone was approaching until Chicken called out, "Levon."   
  
Swinging around, Lundy faced his friend. "He ain't dead, Chicken!" he countered a statement that hadn't been spoken. "I'd know. I'ld feel it. He ain't dead." Then he turned on his heel and continued his mission.  
  
Chicken followed behind his friend. "I know you're hurtin'. Hell, I'm hurtin'. But you know La..." here Chicken's voice got thick, "LaFiamma was doing what he thought was right. Was trying to save those children's mama."  
  
"He ain't dead!!" Lundy yelled without turning around or slowing his increasing pace. Abruptly, the bank crumpled under his feet and he stumbled to the ground and would have landed in the river had Chicken not seized his arm.   
  
Pulling Lundy back onto more solid footing, Chicken knew this was the opportunity he had needed to get through to Lundy. He seized Levon's shoulders and met his suffering friend's eyes, " I know how you feel. You know, I know how you feel. It ain't right. It ain't fair but it's what it is. Lying to yourself don't make it any less the truth." His tone softened, "And it don't cure the hurt."  
  
But Lundy didn't want to hear Chicken's words, to acknowledge their truth. "No!" he growled and tried to break free of the big man's grasp.  
  
Chicken held tight to his friend and gave him a sharp shake. "He's dead, Levon. You've gotta face that."  
  
Levon's screamed, "No! He ain't dead!" even as a tear streaked down his check. With overwhelming anguish, he choked out, "He can't be gone, Chicken."  
  
"I'm sorry, Levon. I know what he mean to you," Chicken's hold turned supportive as Lundy's rage turned to defeat.  
  
"He was family," Lundy declared, the tears evident in his voice. "Like my brother." And Chicken hugged Lundy as his final defenses fell and the sob he had long held back broke forth.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Pain brought LaFiamma back to the land of the living, piercing the unconsciousness that had claimed him. With a moan, his eyes fluttered open and he saw the mud of the river bank, up close and personal.  
  
Attempting to raise his head, a merciless agony streaked through his skull, elicited a more pronounced moan. Raised his hand to hold his head, he was surprised that the limb obeyed without pain.  
  
He remembered everything. The teenage boy. The two children. The mother. And he remembered the car falling forward and his instinctually leap from the jeep, knowing even then that he was abandoning the woman to her unkind fate.   
  
He'd made it clear of the jeep and miraculously been out of it's path as it struck the water. But he had not escaped the whirlpool the jeep had spawned. Before he could truly understand his situation, he was swept under the water and was surging down river.   
  
Finally popping to the surface, he had dragged in air only to be swept under the churning water again and again and again. He was certain he was going to die.  
  
'But I didn't," rang through LaFiamma's head. With new resolve, he forced his arms to support him and crawled from the water's edge to the security of the bank. Acutely aware of the cuts and bruises that covered his body.   
  
Slowly, he sat up, grimacing at the wave of pain his head generated. He quickly assessed his injuries from the bump on his head, to his tender ribs, down to his glass cut knees and bruised left leg. Determining that he hurt all over but nothing was serious in nature.   
  
Finally he turned his focus to his surroundings. "Oh great," he grumbled aloud as he found himself enclosed by woods. He had gone camping only once in his life and had hated every minute of the experience.   
  
Cautiously, he climbed to his feet and listened intently for sounds of civilization. Only birds and rustling wind met his ears. "Just great," he mumbled and walked into the thick woods, limping slightly.  
  
  
  
  
By the time Lundy and Chicken made their way back to the bridge, only two vehicles remained, Lundy's Jimmy and one of the police trucks. Joanne emerged out of the truck at their approach.  
  
"Chicken, can you drive Levon home?" she asked softly even as Lundy refused to meet her eyes.  
  
"Sure," Chicken agreed, having already assigned himself that task from the start.  
  
But Lundy abruptly looked to his Lieutenant. "Esteban....I ...I have to apologize to 'em."  
  
"Later, Levon," Joanne gently suggested.  
  
"No. No, I gotta do it now, before he things I was right, that this is his fault." Levon's voice was emphatic.   
  
"Alright. Joe Bill took him back to Riesner's."  
  
"I'll take you there, Levon," Chicken offered. Lundy nodded and made his way to the Jimmy's passenger side.  
  
Joanne and Chicken's eyes met and their sadness and concern meshed together. Chicken softly said, "I'll stay with him," before he headed to the driver's side of the Jimmy.  
  
  
  
LaFiamma tripped over a root and just barely kept himself off the ground. "I really hate nature today!!" he yelled into the woods but instantly regretted it as it reverberated through his aching head.  
  
Pressing forward, he tried hard to ignore the branches that slapped against him and the underbrush that snared his steps. He wasn't sure how long he had hiked until he heard the truck horn cut through the sounds of the woods.  
  
A smile crept onto his face. "Civilization, here I come!" he exclaimed as he increased his speed.  
  
  
When Chicken parked in Reisner's garage, he looked over to his silent passenger. Lundy sat perfectly still and eerily quiet. Chicken couldn't even detect the man's breathing.  
  
"You don't have to go in there, not today," Chicken gently counseled.   
  
Barely audibly, Lundy insisted, "I have to talk to Esteban. I have to make things right. Today."  
  
"Alright but let me go get Esteban. Talk to him down here."  
  
Lundy looked down at his hands, "I have to walk in there some time," his voice still insistent but nearing the breaking point.  
  
"Not today ya don't. Give yourself some time."  
  
"You said so yourself. There ain't no cure for this pain." With that said, Lundy got out of the Jimmy and forced himself to walk toward the stairs. Then the Divine intervention occurred.  
  
Joe Bill came out of the door and was followed by Esteban. Esteban came up short at seeing Lundy, not out of fear but out of shame.  
  
Joe Bill took the role of referee. "Now I know you're torn up but none of this was Esteban's fault. It ain't fight takin' it out on him."  
  
"I know," Lundy solemnly replied as he met Esteban's eyes. Esteban came down the rest of the stairs to stand in front of Lundy.  
  
"Lundy, I'm sorry," Esteban began, his voice breaking.  
  
But Lundy spared him the rest of the words, "I know ya are. And I know it wasn't your fault. LaFiamma never walked away from helping someone...no matter the risks. I know that better than anyone." Then Lundy gave Esteban a hug. Stepping back, Lundy added, "Thanks for being there with him." And then Lundy stalked back to the Jimmy.  
  
  
  
Maybe in the 1960's you could hitch hike across America, but today, today LaFiamma was finding it impossible to hitch hike an inch. He admitted that his appearance could play a factor in that sad fact.  
  
Giving up, he started to walk toward Houston, uncertain and unwilling to gauge the miles that lay ahead of him. Then he had walked and walked and walked and yet no signs indicated the distance that still separated him from Houston. Needing to give his bruised leg a break, he claimed a seat on a discarded tire on the shoulder of the road.  
  
An 18 wheel truck passed him and then slowed to a stop. At first LaFiamma sat there, stunned. But at the horn blast, he sprang from the tire and made his way to the truck. Climbing in the cab, he came face to face with a white bearded grandfatherly man.  
  
"Son, ya look like something the cat dragged in," the driver greeted.  
  
"I've had better days," LaFiamma conceded.  
  
"Where ya headed or should I just take ya to the first hospital we come upon?"  
  
"If you could, just get me to Houston. I'ld be very grateful."  
  
"Alright, Houston it is," and he put the truck in motion.  
  
  
"Levon, let me take ya home," Chicken coaxed for the thousandth time as he saw Lundy still nursing his glass of whiskey.  
  
"I don't wanna go home, not yet, Chicken," Lundy objected softly as he sat at the counter of Chicken's restaurant.  
  
"How 'bout coming back to my place? There ain't no reason for us to be here. I'm not even officially open for business."  
  
But Lundy shook his head. Silence fall again in the deserted restaurant. When Lundy spoke again, his anguish filled the whole of Texas. "I shoulda been there with him, not Esteban. I shoulda had the guts to stay by his side." His voice dropped to a whisper, "I really thought it'd hurt less not seeing, not being there." Without warning, Levon surged to his feet and threw the whiskey bottle across the room.  
  
"I wasn't there for him, Chicken, and that's tearing my soul out! I...I shoulda talked some sense into him 'stead of running away. I should have stopped his reckless stunts 'stead of cursing him for doing 'em." He met Chicken's eyes with conviction. "It's not Esteban's fault LaFiamma's dead. It's mine."  
  
"Whoa, Lundy! What happened isn't anyone's fault. It just happened."  
  
"I woulda stopped him!!"  
  
"No, you would have joined him. Neither of you back down when lives are at stake."  
  
"Well, then we're both fools." He paled as he realized his tense slip. "Was." He swallowed hard. "He was a fool...thinking the lives of strangers was worth his life!"  
  
Chicken words were soft, admiring, "That was his way, just as it's yours. You both let   
compassion lead you."  
  
"To hell with compassion!" In defeat, Lundy slumped back onto the stool and picked up his glass, before murmured lowly, "It's cost me my wife and now it's cost me my best friend."  
  
  
"Seems the fates are against ya, young man," the truck driver, who LaFiamma had come to know as Jesse, offered as he halted the truck in front of another road block. This was their fourth attempt to find a route to LaFiamma's apartment or Ressner's.  
  
"Tell me something I don't know," LaFiamma grumbled, sighing. A moment later another destination popped into his head. "You have time to try one more place?"  
  
"Yup, just tell me which ways to go," Jesse agreed.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The phone rang at Chicken's. Leaving his seat beside Lundy, Chicken answered the phone with "Chicken's". He fell silent as the caller spoke.  
  
Lundy watched Chicken's expression even as he vainly hoped that the caller was saying that a mistake had been made. Joseph LaFiamma was too young, too smart, too stubborn to be dead. But Chicken's expression grew darker as he listened and Lundy drained his whiskey glass and poured another.  
  
When Chicken bid the caller goodbye, he gently put the phone back on the hook and looked down to the floor.  
  
"I already know it ain't good news, Chicken," Levon lowly broke into the silence. "So why don't ya just tell me and get it over with."  
  
Coming to the counter, Chicken met his friend's eyes. "They finally got he jeep out of the water." A pause. "The woman's body was found inside." Chicken looked away, unable to see the pain in Levon's eyes as he finished, "They haven't recovered...his body yet."  
  
Clenching his jaw, Lundy nodded but couldn't take a drink, uncertain if any liquid could bypass the lump in his throat.  
  
  
"Well, we gotcha here at least," Jesse laughed and Joe offered his hand to the trucker.  
  
"Thanks so much for your help, Jesse," LaFiamma smiled as he and Jesse shook hands.   
  
"Truth is, I was getting' kinda lonely this run. We both got help when we needed it," Jesse admitted with a twinkle in his eye.  
  
"So, fate wasn't' so mean after all?" LaFiamma prodded in good humor.  
  
Jesse laughed."No. Reckon not. Joe, I know Houston aint' like Chicago but I think that may be the good news. Sometimes what we want outta life aint' what's best for us. Don't be too stubborn to appreciate what God's put before ya 'cause you're too busy missing what He's taken away. Take it from an old man whose stubbornness cost him a lot of blessings 'till he wised up."  
  
LaFiamma's look was contemplative a moment and then he nodded his agreement to follow the sage advice. "Seems to me you're a pretty wise guy. Better take your own advice and reconcile things with your son. You know, appreciate what you have," Joe sincerely suggested.  
  
Jesse was startled to have his own advice boomerang back at him but he too faced the sincere concern he heard in his passenger's words. "Reckon you're right. He'll probably hang up on my 'fore I say a full hello."  
  
Joe smiled, "He won't. Thanks again Jesse," and he climbed out of the truck.   
  
Jesse pulled the truck from Chicken's parking lot, blew his horn and was back on his way.  
  
LaFiamma turned to Chicken's and came up short. He had been so glad to see Chicken's come into view, he hadn't noticed the red Jimmy sitting in it's lot. Lundy's Jimmy.  
  
Conflicting emotions tore through him. A huge part of him was glad Lundy was here, that after today's events he could spend some time with his friend. And yet, another part of him dreaded Lundy's reaction to LaFiamma's actions that day. Lundy'd be pissed, like he had been over the helicopter incident and then there would be the lecturing. LaFiamma wasn't in the mood for any of Lundy's crap and he'd tell him that right up front.  
  
  
  
  
Chicken was making himself busy by cooking up dinner, though neither man was hungry. Chicken hadn't heard the door open, hadn't head the tread of ruined leather loafers as they approached. No he simply looked up to ask Lundy if he wanted onions on his burger. Suddenly the metal turner dropped from his now nerveless fingers.  
  
Lundy jerked his head up at the clatter of the turned colliding with the floor. Seeing Chicken's stunned expression, Levon spun around to find the source of Chicken's surprise, uncertain if he should pull his gun. His hand froze mid grab.  
  
LaFiamma limped forward, misinterpreting his friend's reactions, he began, "I know, I know. I look like hell."  
  
Levon stumbled to his feet, disbelief and shock surging through him. He was struck dumb, unable to articulate the joy that consumed him at finding his best friend alive and standing before him.  
  
"Lundy, don't even start lecturing me," LaFiamma warned, sure that Lundy was drawing breath to unleash a tongue lashing.  
  
But instead Lundy choked out an anguished, "I thought you were dead."  
  
This brought LaFiamma up short. He looked to Lundy's face then Chicken's and then back to Lundy's. Realizing the depth of their shock and the signs of the aftermath of their anguish, he sobered quickly. "Yeah, well, I thought the same thing."  
  
Levon walked up to his partner, met his eyes a moment before pulling LaFiamma into a tight hug. LaFiamma returned the hug, feeling some of the horror of the day dissolve from his soul.  
  
Pulling back, Lundy kept his hands on LaFiamma's shoulders. "Damn it, boy! Don't ever do that to me again," tears evident in his voice as well as his eyes.  
  
LaFiamma nodded his promise.  
  
Then looking over LaFiamma with a critical eye, Lundy drawled, "We best get you to a hospital."  
  
LaFiamma gave his pat reply, "I'm fine."  
  
"Oh really," Lundy challenged with steel in his voice. "I guess that blood all over you's for show and you're limping 'cause your shoes' too tight."  
  
LaFiamma couldn't hold back a smirk, "I'll have you know, leather shrinks when it gets wet."  
  
Lundy fought between anger and joy but a laugh erupted from him before he knew it. "You're so stubborn!"  
  
"Yeah, well, I'm trying to become an honorary Texan."  
  
"Boy, if stubbornness alone made ya Texan, you'd be more Texan than Sam Houston."  
  
A silence fell, then both men broke into laughter, real heart felt laughter. But soon LaFiamma was trying to brace his injured ribs from moving.   
  
"Whoa, whoa," Levon soothed. "Let's get you to a seat," and eased LaFiamma into a chair. Bending down to be eye level with his partner, Levon accused with iron in his tone and worry in his eyes, "Ya gonna tell me again that you're fine, that you don't need to go to the hospital."  
  
"Doesn't matter. Roads to the hospital are all blocked," LaFiamma answered with a cocky smile.  
  
Levon turned to Chicken in surprise and the black man turned on the tv news for the first time that day. Within minutes Chicken and Lundy knew LaFiamma wasn't exaggerating. Turning off the tv, Chicken brought an alcohol doused cloth to Lundy. "Looks like the hospital's not an option tonight."  
  
With the cloth in hand, Lundy faced LaFiamma. "Alright then, we'll stay at my place till the water recedes. But let's get you cleaned up a bit 'fore we leave." And he pulled a chair in front of LaFiamma, took a seat and raised the towel to a cut on Joe's face.  
  
Before the cloth could make contact, LaFiamma grabbed Levon's hand. "I can do that."  
  
Yanking his hand free, Lundy growled, "Don't be a stubborn mule LaFiamma."  
  
"Lundy," LaFiamma warned.  
  
"LaFiamma I've about.." Lundy began.  
  
"Boys! Boys!" Chicken interrupted, using the tone of voice he had brought to bare on his son so many years ago. Having earned their attention he continued in a soft voice, "I don't think arguing's what you wanna do after the miracle you got handed today."   
  
Both men hung their heads in shame like rebuked schoolboys. Simultaneously they said, "Sorry" and then their eyes met and smiles replaced their shame.  
  
Gently, Lundy wiped away the blood from LaFiamma's check before dabbing the cloth at the true cut on his friend's forehead. LaFiamma flinched but remained silent. Lundy let that silence reign as he continued to clean up the cut and released the clamp of hair that had merged with the dried blood.  
  
"So, you up to telling me what happened?" Lundy gingerly prodded, watching LaFiamma for things he wouldn't say.  
  
Instead of answering, LaFiamma shot back an urgent question of his own. "The woman...the mother, did she make it?" his voice edgy as he leaned forward in his chair, needing to know the answer. Now.  
  
Levon met Joe' s eyes and sadly shook his head.  
  
Joe closed his eyes and hung his head in anguish. A million "if only" s running through his head.   
  
Lundy put his hand on LaFiamma's shoulder, "You saved the teenager and the two children. And you risked your life to try and save the mother. You did everything ya could, LaFiamma," Lundy consoled.  
  
But immediately LaFiamma started to shake his head, "No, no," he began to mumble and held his head in his hands. "I should have gone to the jeep first, the teenager could have waited. Damn it!" And LaFiamma surged from the chair and limped toward the door.  
  
Lundy was about to take up chase when LaFiamma halted. With his back to Lundy, LaFiamma's voice was soft and pain filled, "I abandoned her, Levon. When I knew the jeep was going in....I only thought about my survival. I jumped clear, knowing.." his voice faltered. Marshalling his emotions, he confessed, "I jumped clear knowing she'd never make it without my help. I choose my life over hers."  
  
Lundy felt the emotions emanating from his friend and he hurt for him. He wanted to say the right thing, to somehow make the horror that was reality into some great reassuring bed time story. He couldn't. Instead, with a shaky voice, he spoke what was in his heart, "I'm glad you did." Then with unwavering conviction, "I thank God that you made that decision."  
  
LaFiamma spun around to face Lundy in shock. "I'm a cop!"  
  
Levon stalked to LaFiamma. "You're also my best friend. If you're waiting for me to say you shoulda sacrificed your life for hers....hell'll freeze over first."  
  
"Lundy it's my job to put civilian lives above my own!"  
  
"You did that!" Lundy thundered back. Then, trying to regain some composure, Lundy looked away a moment before refocusing on LaFiamma. "You risked your life to save that teenage boy and you risked it again to save those two children. And you risked it a third time trying to save that woman. When that jeep headed for the water, there was no more risks to take, no more odds to bet against. There was only the thread of hope that you'd survive at all." Then using some of LaFiamma's own words, Lundy stated, "You could'na saved her."  
  
The words cut to the truth LaFiamma struggled to come to terms with. He hung his head. Gently, Lundy put his hand at the nape of LaFiamma's neck. LaFiamma raised his head as a tear tracked down his check.  
  
"Let's get outta here, get you cleaned up and in my guest room's bed," Lundy suggested with compassion  
  
LaFiamma took a steadying breath before he nodded in agreement.  
  
Lundy turned to see that Chicken was concluding a phone call. "Who ya been calling at this time of the night?"  
  
Chicken almost gave a look of exasperation, almost. "Didn't you ever learn that there's never a bad time to learn good news."  
  
Suddenly Lundy was struck with his lapse. "Joanne! Esteban!"  
  
Chicken smiled, "They've been told 'bout the miracle," and his eyes alighted on LaFiamma. LaFiamma gave a weak smile as his emotions rages. All at the same time he felt embarrassed by the attention, guilty for surviving and yet elated to be alive.  
  
As Chicken approached the two men, Lundy held out his hand. "You're a good friend, Chicken. I wouldna made it through today without you."   
  
Chicken shook Levon's hand and gave him a pat on the back before he stood before LaFiamma. "My grand daddy use to say 'Home's where ever you're missed.' Well, let me tell you, you were gonna be missed by a whole load of people here in Houston. Missed deeply and forever."  
  
A genuine smile flew onto LaFiamma's lips. "Thanks Chicken," and he found himself engulfed in the big man's gentle hug and released just as quickly.  
  
"You boys best get going," Chicken said as he gave a look to Lundy.  
  
"Goodnight, Chicken," Lundy bid as he came up to collect LaFiamma.  
  
"Later Chicken," LaFiamma said as he and Lundy headed out into the night.  
  
Chicken smiled as he watched Levon follow protectively behind LaFiamma, ready to aid his friend if he faltered. Two stubborn men who were as different as daylight from dark. Two men that were close as brothers.  
  
  
  
  
  
Lundy drove carefully through the dark, water logged roads. "You got any broken bones you haven't told me about?" he asked casually, hoping to get the truth.  
  
"No, don't think so," came LaFiamma's voice across the darkened interior of the Jimmy.  
  
"Saw blood on your legs."  
  
For a moment silence fell in the dark. "Had to crawl over glass to get in the jeep."  
  
Trying not to put LaFiamma on the defensive, Lundy's voice got soft, gentle, like he used on skittish horses. "And the limp?"   
  
"Hit it on something swimming to the car."  
  
Silence fell again.  
  
"You ready to tell me everything?" Lundy's voice offered support and safety and compassion.  
  
But the reply that Lundy received was silence and he let it stand. He almost jumped when LaFiamma began to quietly speak.  
  
"You already know what happened at the bridge, right? You want to hear what happened after that."  
  
Like a tidal wave, the tragic terror and anguish of the day washed over Lundy. His voice was thick as he replied, "No....no." He paused before confessing, "I wasn't up to hearing the details."  
  
In surprise, LaFiamma looked to Lundy. He could hear the anguish in his friend's voice, could feel the other man's pain in the words he spoke. For the first time LaFiamma was starting to intimately comprehend what Chicken had said. 'You were gonna be missed.....deeply and forever.' Even after all the arguing, even after the helicopter incident, even after splitting up as partners, Lundy still gave a damn about him.  
  
Lundy gave a sharp look to his friend, worried about he lack of a response. "You alright?" Real concern and real compassion echoed in the words.  
  
Instead of answering Lundy's last question, LaFiamma complied with Lundy's initial request. He related all the day's event with only the facts, leaving his reactions, his emotions or his what ifs unspoken.   
  
Lundy found he was glad for the 'facts only' story. He had felt enough emotions today to last him the rest of his lifetime.  
  
Nothing was said for a long time then LaFiamma questioned, "But the teenager and the two kids, they're OK?" Suddenly he needed some reassurance.  
  
"They were'nt hurt. Not a scratch on 'em." But Levon knew what still tore into LaFiamma's heart, just as he knew it always would. "She woulda chose her children's lives over her own. You know that."  
  
"Yes," LaFiamma replied with true conviction. Lundy shot a look to his partner, searching for insight into that conviction even though deciphering any expressions in the dark was impossible. LaFiamma answered the unasked question. "She...she was conscious when I got to her like I told you." He drew in a deep breath before continuing. "She asked me, first thing, if her kids were safe."  
  
A sigh of relief emerged from Lundy. The woman, with her last breath, had lessened the load LaFiamma would have to bear. Lundy sent up a thank you to God above.  
  
"I wanted to save her too," LaFiamma quietly added.  
  
"I know ya did and so did she. But she also knew you saved her children and that mattered more to her than her own life being spared."  
  
"I know," LaFiamma conceded and the two men fell silent.  
  
  
  
LaFiamma entered Lundy's kitchen wearing a borrowed pair of shorts and a T-shirt that had "Property of Texas" stenciled across it. "I feel like a Texas prison inmate in this shirt," LaFiamma grumbled, glad to be back on the familiar ground of arguing with his best friend.  
  
"Sorry, I just sent my "Texas and Proud of it" shirt to the cleaners," Lundy sallied back. "Now shut up and sit down so I can tend to ya." Lundy pulled out the kitchen table chair that was beside him.  
  
LaFiamma sat as he was ordered to do but he didn't shut up. "Tend to me? You call pouring whiskey on my cuts, tending to me?"  
  
"Nah, I'm gonna cauterize the wounds. I got a fire going outside with my Bowie knife in it." Levon always gave as good as he got.  
  
"Funny, Levon. Real funny," LaFiamma shot back but the two men's eyes met and they couldn't help smirking which almost immediately lead to laughter.  
  
"Sorry to disappoint ya, but I got a first aid kit," Lundy said when he had controlled his laughter.  
  
"Oh, I'm fine with that."  
  
As Lundy treated the cuts on LaFiamma's legs, LaFiamma tried not to jerk away from the sting of the disinfectant. He thought talking might help him better ignore the pain.  
  
"What did I do that pissed you off so badly?" his tone striving to be conversational. Lundy looked up sharply from his task, surprise and regret on his face. LaFiamma continued, "You were relieved when the Lieutenant split us up."  
  
Temporarily abandoning his task, Levon leaned back in his chair and faced Joe. Facing his friend's question was a harder task. A task he wasn't sure he was up to...until he remembered the way he had felt when he thought LaFiamma was dead.  
  
"I was afraid," Levon confessed and he ran a hand through his hair. He had LaFiamma's full attention.  
  
"Afraid?" LaFiamma echoed. "Afraid of what?"  
  
Lundy boldly met his friend's gaze, "Afraid you'd get yourself killed and I'll be there to see it. Unable to do a damn thing to stop it...to save you." Levon swallowed hard. "Like Esteban had to do today."  
  
LaFiamma had no come back to that, no excuse and no denial.  
  
Bitterness crept into Lundy's tone. "I thought it'ld hurt less if I wasn't there, if I wasn't left standing there watching you fall from a helicopter....watching you get swept into a river and not resurface." The two men's eyes met unflinchingly. "But I was wrong. It hurt more thinking I hadn't been there for you."  
  
"There wasn't anything you could have done today," LaFiamma insisted.  
  
But Lundy shook his head. "I shoulda been there, shoulda been man enough to be your partner and said to hell with how vulnerable I feel knowin' ...." He broke off and looked down at his hands.  
  
"Knowing what?" LaFiamma prodded. "Knowing that I take risks? That my judgment's not the best?" There was no defiance in LaFiamma's tone but self-rebuke.  
  
This brought Lundy's eyes snapping up to LaFiamma's. "No," he emphatically refuted, angry that LaFiamma had given those misconceptions an instant of life. "Knowing you're my friend...my best friend."  
  
The confession caught LaFiamma by surprise. Sure Lundy had called him his best friend back at Chicken's but that was his relief talking, was part of his tactics to ease LaFiamma's pain. LaFiamma hadn't put much stock in it. He couldn't afford to. But now, here, Levon's confession had no agenda or excuse. It was simply the truth.  
  
Seeing LaFiamma's surprised face had Lundy chuckling. "You didn't think I had the guts to admit that, did you?"  
  
LaFiamma floundered a moment before he answered, "No. No I didn't."  
  
"Don't let it go to your head, LaFiamma," Lundy warned.  
  
"Hey, I am just as unhappy about you being my best friend," LaFiamma returned in mock frustration. Both men broke into smiles and chuckles.  
  
"If it gets out we're friends, our reputation will be ruined," Lundy cautioned.  
  
"With all the arguing we do, they'll never suspect a thing," LaFiamma reassured.  
  
"So how 'bout you do your best friend a favor." Lundy serious look seared into LaFiamma. "Have a care for your own life. I'm not oppose to the way you do your job, or your compassion or your drive but I want ya to survive to do it again the next day and the next and the next."  
  
The desperately earnest request cut deeply into LaFiamma and rebuked him for the foolish risks he had been taking. "Sometimes I just act without thinking," he admitted. "It's hard to change a habit like that...without someone there to hold me back, you know, to knock some sense into me." He eyed Lundy a moment before he ventured, "Holding me back's not Esteban's style."  
  
"Yeah, which is why I told Joanne you shouldn't be partnered together. Two hothead..that's you two." Lundy sighed in resignation. "It seems I'm the only one that's any good at stoppin' you from doin' something stupid." A wide smile grew on Lundy's face.  
  
"Partners?" LaFiamma questioned as he held out his hand.  
  
"Partners." Lundy firmly stated as he shook LaFiamma's hand.  
  
As Lundy returned to 'tending" LaFiamma's injuries, their usual banter fell back into place.  
  
"I get to pick where we eat lunch tomorrow," LaFiamma announced.  
  
"How you figure that? You picked the day we got split up," Lundy argued.  
  
"Yeah, but we never made it to lunch. So it's technically still my turn."  
  
"That's not the way we play it and you know it!"  
  
"I know we're eating Chinese tomorrow," LaFiamma gloated.  
  
"No way! I know the rules..." Lundy countered even as he felt a rush of happiness wash over him. He had his partner back.  
  
"What are you smiling about?" LaFiamma suspiciously demanded.  
  
"I'm thinkin' how good Chicken's BBQ ribs are gonna taste tomorrow at lunch."  
  
"Keep thinkin' Lundy. You'll be using chopsticks tomorrow." But LaFiamma wasn't really thinking about lunch. No, he was thinking about Chicken's words and Lundy's confession. Suddenly Houston wasn't such a bad place to call home after all. Truth was, for some time now it hadn't been bad. But after today, Houston was starting to put Chicago to shame. 'Property of Texas'? He could live with that.  
  
The End.  
  
I'll love to hear what you think. Witty@epix.net 


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